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The Cadets 2019


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5 hours ago, Eleran said:

And yet in related news, I've seen at least two Northern Virginia High Schools announce within the last two weeks that they will not be able to field a Varsity Football team this fall, due to low enrollment.   If that is indeed the trend (and between cultural shifts and medical awareness, that may very well be the trend in certain parts of the country), what will it mean for the marching arts in those locations?   I doubt it will mean anything good.

 WGI growth will be where the future growth of units, will continue to be, imo. If football loses its lustre with suburban Moms due to medical science showing the long term cognitive impairments that football participation apparently causes, then outdoor football field styled MB/ Drum corps shows will likely ebb, then disappear, giving way perhaps to WGI styled indoor staged competitions. It'll not happen overnight, but certainly seems plausable given what medical science is increasingly finding of late regarding the long term health damage that football participation causes. Ironically, in the deep south, in the early 1900's, schools/ colleges banned football on dozens of campuses there. Reason ? Deemed too dangerous.  A health hazard. Maybe we'll come full circle in time across the country, who knows.

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27 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

 WGI growth will be where the future growth of units, will continue to be, imo. If football loses its lustre with suburban Moms due to medical science showing the long term cognitive impairments that football participation apparently causes, then outdoor football field styled MB/ Drum corps shows will likely ebb, then disappear, giving way perhaps to WGI styled indoor staged competitions. It'll not happen overnight, but certainly seems plausable given what medical science is increasingly finding of late regarding the long term health damage that football participation causes. Ironically, in the deep south, in the early 1900's, schools/ colleges banned football on dozens of campuses there. Reason ? Deemed too dangerous.  A health hazard. Maybe we'll come full circle in time across the country, who knows.

Cadets have run the successful Philadelphia/Chester show for several years at a professional SOCCER stadium; they had a second show scheduled last year at another professional SOCCER stadium in Northern NJ whose later schedule change moved the show back to Clifton or such.  My point is that DCI is already using other venues for contests (remember the Pittsfield show at Waconah Park or this year's re-instituted Glen Falls/Ft. Edwards Open Class show, both on minor league baseball fields?) And I have the feeling that the NFL isn't going away, at least during this presidency. My point is your post is valid if one looks several generations out but not immediately. The chicken-little football is failing citations are a deficit loss of only 4 to 14 per cent of high school football players have stopped based on which report you read. Even trend setting analysts don't make decisions by the wings of the Bell curve but where the meat of the matter lies. Drum Corps will do similarly, noting trends, being creative in solutions, but not abandoning the ship because one no longer can see familiar land.

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8 minutes ago, xandandl said:

Cadets have run the successful Philadelphia/Chester show for several years at a professional SOCCER stadium

My favorite drum corps venue I might add...absolutely LOVE this place...and the great acoustics it provides...

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 In the early 60's, when medical science was finding increasing evidence of the health hazards of cigarette smoking, few envisioned the day would come where smoking would be banned in public venues. If you said it would happen, they'd be the look of increduality with that. But science did not slow down. In time, smoking percentages in the Country dropped precipitously, and banning in public venues did become the reality. These things don't happen overnight however. DCI outdoor shows seem safe for the foreseeable future, imo. Long term ? if the Science research continues on its current track, the notion that football participation rates won't also fall precipitously, seems a bit naive, imo. We are already seeing participation rates falling in Pop Warner football, and in some school districts ( one poster cites an example above ). I see no evidence that participation rates won't accelerate in losses over the coming years. And without football being played on football fields, its hard to imagine Marching Bands that do halftime shows at football games on football fields not being effected as well. And DCI Drum Corps is currently tied at the hip to the outdoor Scholastic Marching Band Community. What effects them, naturally can be expected to effect DCI Drum Corps as well. But who knows when we'll see such effects....'won't effect DCI the next few years anyway. It's probably at least a decade out at least, imo. But... its something to watch and be cognizant of, imo

 Now... back to the 2019 Cadets........

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11 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

 In the early 60's, when medical science was finding increasing evidence of the health hazards of cigarette smoking, few envisioned the day would come where smoking would be banned in public venues. 

 Now... back to the 2019 Cadets........

Off topic response...sorry Cadet fans...

I remember in 1981 being at a movie theater and watching Carbon Copy ( don't remember the movie at all) and the place had such a cloud of smoke that I could barely see the movie screen...I was only eleven and saw this as something that was normal.  Now days I am actually allergic to cigarette smoke among a few other things...

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27 minutes ago, Liahona said:

Off topic response...sorry Cadet fans...

I remember in 1981 being at a movie theater and watching Carbon Copy ( don't remember the movie at all) and the place had such a cloud of smoke that I could barely see the movie screen...I was only eleven and saw this as something that was normal.  Now days I am actually allergic to cigarette smoke among a few other things...

 In the early years of my marching, the percentages smoking in my Junior Corps was maybe  65%- 75% if I recall. Myself included in the regular tobacco smokers. Later, after I came out of the Service, marched Senior Corps., Alumni Corps, the percentage of tobacco smokers in line had dropped through the floor ( I had quit by then too )... This was well after the US Surgeon General's report came out. What are the percentages of regular tobacco users marching in DCI Corps today ?..., Cadets included. I'm guessing less than 10% ?

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2 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

 In the early years of my marching, the percentages smoking in my Corps was maybe  65%- 75% if I recall. Myself included in the regular tobacco smokers. Later, after I came out of the service, marched Senior Corps. Alumni Corps, the percentage of tobacco smokers had dropped through the floor... this was well after the US Surgeon General's report came out. What are the percentages of regular tobacco users  marching in DCI Corps today ? I'm guessing less than 10% ?

As for corps we had more of a problem BITD with underage drinking (staff was not aware)...but I do also recall another trumpet player that was a smoker as well...

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15 hours ago, cybersnyder said:

Still thinking about the Maryland angle, and yeah, it won't happen, but another conflict would be that Maryland schools are county level. So if the county says, "No" to rehearsing at their facilities, you lose out on 13 high schools at once in the case of Howard County. But I really wish the area was more into band / corps. Plenty of money in the area, people will not blink at doing private lessons after private lessons for their kids, it would seem idea - except for the mindset.

One thing to consider is that it is not necessary to run a drum corps in an area that is strong for marching band. There are a lot of strong concert band and orchestral H.S and college programs in the Maryland/Virginia region, especially in the D.C. area. The talent pool is what you're after even if the area is not much into competitive marching band or corps.  More importantly it would open the door for The Cadets to run a number of youth programs.

The Blue Devils are not exactly located in a hotbed for competitive marching band, but that's exactly why they are able to offer so many programs to youth in the Concord region. Most of us think of BD from the "A" corps side of things. But if you think about the Blue Devils org from the B and C corps, the Diabalo Wind Symphony, Yamaha School of Music (lessons), guard units, BD entertainment and other percussion offerings, special needs units, alumni corps offerings (when they have them), etc., then you realize that most of that organization is locally-run with, my guess, roughly 250+ local kids involved year around. This is not counting the A corps which we know fields kids from all over the world. Having so many local youth involved in your org means more parental involvement. This means more volunteers, more bingo workers, more opportunity, more money. 

Allentown may well be the best place for The Cadets to stay. Time will tell. Western PA is a strong band area with plenty of good musicians to recruit.  And you are not far from major cities on the East Coast.  I am sure the new BoD and upper management are thinking about the future for sure. 

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13 hours ago, Cappybara said:

Makes sense. Awareness of CTE is rising. Not sure why any parent would push their kids towards playing football 

But strangely, if you ask the head coach of UNC football, the evidence is inconclusive. And football is an issue of national security.  LOL

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Here's hoping the Cadet powers that be take notice of my avatar and use either for their new uniforms in 2019. Would be cool to see a spandex version of the old M&G on the field.

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